Related: Passionate Public Speak Out at Board Meeting Regarding Burgess Suspension
Yesterday, San Diego Superior Court Judge Eddie Sturgeon denied the request of Randy Burgess to be reinstated as a teacher at Coronado High School. However, Judge Sturgeon shared, “We have a person’s reputation in the community that’s at stake here and then we have the School District’s need to have safe classrooms.” Later, Judge Sturgeon stated to the District’s attorney Sam Sherman, “You’ve got to make a decision, this can’t go on.”
The court ruling states:
“Petitioner Randall Burgess’s writ of mandate is denied. Petitioner has not met its burden to show at this time that respondent Coronado Unified School District’s (“District” or “CUSD”) actions are an illegal suspension and violate the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) or the California Education Code.”
“The District has shown petitioner is not on suspension but is on paid administrative leave while an investigation as to the claim made merits discipline. The actions of the District show recognition and respect for petitioner’s long history of teaching and coaching without any incidents or disciplinary concerns. Notwithstanding petitioner has not been advised how much longer this investigation will last, and petitioner has faced uncertainty and stress over the delays, Rita Beyers, the assistant superintendent of the District, stated under oath the investigation is ongoing, and that additional details have come to light and additional witnesses have been identified and interviewed, as recently as the end of September 2017. She also stated the District is making every effort to complete the investigation as quickly as possible without jeopardizing the accuracy of the results.” Read the entire court ruling here.
Lawyer for Randy Burgess, Matthew Herron, stated to The Coronado Times, “Our next step is to request the ruling be reviewed by the Court of Appeal because of the legal error on which the ruling is based. We expect the Court of Appeal will agree that the District cannot remove Mr. Burgess from the classroom for as long as it likes without following the rules set forth in the Education Code.”
Randy Burgess was placed on paid administrative leave by Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) last April as a response to sexual assault charges from a former Coronado student. Criminal charges have not been filed against Burgess and he is petitioning to get his job back.
In an interview with The Coronado Times, Burgess said, “I have never had any interaction with this individual and they have never been under my supervision in any way, shape or form. The way this was handled, they [CUSD] bypassed a lot of my rights. I have not been allowed any recourse to respond to the complaints. I was completely blindsided by the allegations by the student and district. The district has had an opportunity to investigate for over six months.”
Related: Passionate Public Speak Out at Board Meeting Regarding Burgess Suspension
